Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide
Posted by APO on 7/24/08
On 7/24/08, S. wrote:
> I'm so glad you told me that because I'm feeling a lot
> overwhelmed right now. And, I'm glad you told me about that
> advance pay. I didn't get a paycheck from my last teaching job
> over the summer, so . . . things are tight. I'm heading to
> Korea. How do you like Germany? I would love to head over to
> Europe in the future. Thanks for the reassurance. It is
> appreciated.
Hi S,
Just hang in there! At least you were hired in July and have some
time to adjust before school starts. I was hired in mid-August
and arrived at my first post after school started so it was
stressful! But looking back...all the stress and worries seem
insignificant now.
Another thing to keep in mind: You will be paid bi-weekly which is
really nice. In the states I got paid once a month and that was
hard. You also have a choice of being paid over 10 months or over
12 months, but I think your first year in DoDDS you have to do 10
months.
And another thing that I wish DoDDS would help new hires with is
medical and dental insurance. I don't know what your situation
is, but when I taught in the states I had Kaiser HMO and Delta
Dental and my school district paid 100%. In DoDDS, there is no
HMO. For medical, you have a choice of Blue Cross Blue Shield,
GEHA, Foreign Service Medical, and I think there is one more.
They are all PPO plans, so that was new to me. I went with Blue
Cross since it was the only one I heard of before. Actually, they
are pretty good. I pay a $15 co pay for visits and they have
treated me well. You are free to choose your own doc as long as
they are in the network. The gov't pays most of the premium but
you have a bi weekly deduction. Depending on your plan and whether
or not you have dependents it is not too bad. $70 is deducted
from my check for medical.
Dental insurance is optional. I have Aetna and pay $16 per pay
period. Again, no one really takes the time to explain all this.
You are just expected to read all the paperwork, choose a plan,
and sign up.
Finally, about getting to Europe....going to Korea can be a benefit
because after 3 years you move up to highest category for
transfers. Only Korea and Cuba teachers can get to category A
after 3 years. I was in "hardship" locations for 7 years before I
got to mainland Europe. All in all, anywhere in DoDDS will be an
adventure and I think you will like it.
APO
Posts on this thread, including this one
- somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/23/08, by S..
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/24/08, by APO.
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/24/08, by S..
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/24/08, by APO.
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/24/08, by S..
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/30/08, by Susanna.
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/31/08, by S..
- Re: somebody needs to write a survival guide, 7/31/08, by Susanna.
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